


A Moment in the Woods

by Nevanna



Category: Gravity Falls
Genre: Episode: s02e20 Weirdmageddon 3: Take Back the Falls, Gen, Memory Loss, Missing Scene
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-15
Updated: 2019-05-15
Packaged: 2020-03-05 20:59:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 250
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18836668
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nevanna/pseuds/Nevanna
Summary: Mabel and Stan encounter a friendly forest creature and some less-than-pleasant possibilities.





	A Moment in the Woods

**Author's Note:**

> This ficlet was written for Week Two of the Month of Maybel ("Cryptid Cuties").

The bushes rustle behind them, and Mabel touches the handle of her grappling hook. “You okay, kiddo?” Stan asks, putting a hand on her shoulder.

Before she can answer, or wonder whether he’s forgotten her name again, the source of the noise pokes its duck-billed face from the leaves and cautiously shuffles toward them. Mabel’s eyes light up when she sees the red-and-black checks covering its pudgy body. “A plaidypus!” she squeals. “We read about them in Grunkle Ford’s journal! Isn’t it cute?”

Stan frowns at the creature, which is sniffing the spilled toffee peanuts around his feet. “Why was my brother writing about these critters again?”

Mabel’s smile fades. They’ve already explained this to him once. “Because Gravity Falls is full of weird and spooky stuff,” she says, trying to keep the quaver from her voice. What if none of Stan’s returned memories end up sticking? “You and Ford both knew about it for years.”

“So we studied the spookums together?” Stan studies her face and reaches out to pat her head awkwardly. “I say something wrong?”

Instead of answering, Mabel scoops up the plaidypus. “If Ford was here, he’d try to make this cutie shed his pelt,” she says. “We’d just have to hug him for a while – the plaidypus, not Ford – to calm him down.”

“How long is a while?”

“You’re good at hugs.” Mabel leans into Stan’s side, and – after hesitating for a moment – he puts an arm around her. “I bet it wouldn’t take long.”


End file.
